Nico Hoerner wished he had done more.
Standing in the batter’s box Saturday, the Cubs’ infielder looked stunned after hearing Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing call opposing backstop Miguel Amaya, according to internet lip readers and later confirmed by Hoerner, a “fat f–k” after advancing on a wild pitch in a clip that has since gone viral.
Hoerner’s eyes told the story with his eyebrows being raised after the stunning remark, but, in hindsight, the 28-year-old knows he could have stood up for his catcher.
“I wish that I had confronted him a little more directly, to be honest. I was pretty taken aback in the middle of my at-bat,” Hoerner said on “Spiegel and Holmes” on Tuesday. “It was just kind of a strange thing to experience, so, yeah, I felt a little weird about that.
“I’m not saying I should’ve have like tackled the guy or anything, but still a little taken aback. At the end of the day, you just wanna have your teammates’ backs.”
The play in question happened in the third inning of the Dodgers’ 12-4 win on Saturday at Dodger Stadium when Amaya advanced to second base on a wild pitch from Roki Sasaki, and Amaya ultimately scored on an RBI single later in the inning to give Chicago a 2-0 lead at the time.
While the show’s hosts did not directly ask Hoerner if Rushing said “fat f–k,” they asked him if they read his lips right in that instance and he simply said: “Yeah.”
The remark brought extra attention considering a similar incident involving Rushing earlier this year against the rival Giants.
After a play at the plate that shook up Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee, Rushing walked toward the dugout before looking back and appearing to say, “F–k em.”
Rushing denied saying what most believed he uttered.
“Hopefully he didn’t take it the way it was put out,” Rushing said at the time. “I’ll be sure to say something to him face-to-face tomorrow, making sure he’s OK. There was nothing really directed at him.”
The Giants seemingly retaliated via ace Logan Webb plunking Rushing two days later, although Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had no issue with the old-school baseball tactic.
“It probably was,” Roberts said of Rushing allegedly being hit on purpose earlier this month. “[Rushing] said what he said. I don’t think he meant it too personally, but they see it, social media catches it. Webby’s an old-school guy, he’s protecting his teammates, so I got no problem with it.”
The Cubs and Dodgers won’t meet again until they battle at Wrigley Field from Aug. 3-5, and it’s unlikely the North Siders will forget about Rushing’s remark before that series.